First Reference Talks

Yosie now writing for Slaw.ca

Monday, March 15th, 2010

This week at First Reference, we offered congratulations to Yosie for being selected to provide regular contributions to the Canadian law blog Slaw.ca, “a Canadian co-operative weblog about any and all things legal”. Now, besides her tireless efforts putting together the Human Resources Advisors, Human Resources PolicyPros, HRinfodesk and contributing to the First Reference blog, she will also offer her thoughts on employment law and related topics every Thursday on Slaw.

Tags: employment law, employment standards, HR issues, HRinfodesk, Human Resources Advisor, Human Resources PolicyPro, occupational health and safety, policies and procedures, slaw.ca
Posted in Announcements | Make a Comment »

Sleeping on the Job? What do you have to do to get fired in Canada, anyway?

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Employees can be dismissed for cause, and therefore without notice or severance, when their misconduct or performance is so egregious that the employment relationship has been irreparably harmed. In assessing this issue, employers must adopt a contextual approach, which considers not only the misconduct in question, but the entirety of the employment relationship.

Tags: canadian employment law, conduct and behaviour, discipline, Dismissal, employee conduct, employment law, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, termination
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | 2 Comments »

Don’t underestimate conflicts that arise from harassment

Friday, January 29th, 2010

One other session I attended at the 2010 Ontario HRPA conference was Andrew Lawson’s on Protecting your organization from the workplace bully. He made a couple of good points on the topic of workplace harassment that I would like to share with you.

Tags: Andrew Lawson, Bill 168, bully, bullying, canadian employment law, harassment, harassment in the workplace, health and safety, HR issues, HRPA, Human Resources, occupational health and safety, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, privacy legislation, privacy rights, workplace conflicts, workplace harassment
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources | 4 Comments »

When should damages for bad faith in dismissal be awarded?

Monday, December 7th, 2009

According to the Supreme Court, “The Damages Formerly Known As Wallace” (damages for bad faith in the course of dismissal) are to be compensatory rather than arbitrary extensions of the notice period. But what if the employer acted in bad faith, but the employee didn’t suffer any damages? What circumstances should justify an award?

Tags: canadian employment law, Dismissal, employment law, employment standards, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, termination
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Employer holiday parties: some useful tips

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

However limited an organization’s party budget is, most of them still use the holiday season to show their employees their appreciation for their year-long efforts by holding a holiday party on or off company premises. In the last several years, however, many organizations have looked carefully at how they approach the annual holiday party, for legal and economical reasons.

Tags: Challenges in planning the holiday party, company sponsored event, drinking at a holiday party, employment standards, holiday party, HR issues, Human Resources, human right, liability for sexual and other types of harassment, occupational health and safety, planning the holiday party, religious accommodation, Responsibilities of employers during a company hosted party, The do's and don'ts of company-sponsored events, vicarious liability
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights | 1 Comment »

Tribunal awards $35,000 to fired pregnant employee

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently awarded a woman $35,000 after her employer fired her when she revealed on her first day of work that she was four months pregnant. (The award covered $20,000 in lost wages and benefits, and $15,000 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.) In addition to the damage award, given the overwhelming number of women working for the employer, the tribunal ordered the company to implement and distribute a written policy on the accommodation of pregnancy to ensure future compliance.

Tags: employment standards, feelings and self-respect, firing pregnant employee, HR issues, HR policy, Human Resources, human rights, injury to dignity, interview and human rights, maternity leave, ontario employment standards act, Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, parental leave, policy, policy manual, pregnancy, pregnancy and the workplace, terminating a pregnant employee, terminating an employee on maternity/parental leave, termination
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights | 3 Comments »

Jail for lying in a civil action?

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Clearly, if a court finds that one party has been dishonest, it will have serious negative repercussions with respect to their chances of success. It can also result in a cost award against them. The question for today, however, is whether it is appropriate to also find parties who lie during the litigation process in contempt, and if so, what the appropriate penalty should be.

Tags: Alberta, Alberta employment standards act, breach of confidential information, canadian employment law, civil action, competing with former employer, contempt, Dismissal, employment law, employment related dispute, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, litigation, non compete, ontario employment standards act, resignation, restrictive covenant
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | 1 Comment »

Textual harassment: A new liability concern?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

With this whole text-messaging explosion, a new epidemic called “textual harassment” has emerged. I recently read a couple of articles dealing with this new liability concern for employers: textual-sexual harassment. Of course this warning comes from the United States—according to a recent US Justice Department report to Congress, 23 percent of stalking or harassment is happening via text messages. The problem has become so large in the US that 46 states have anti-stalking laws that refer to electronic forms of communication. However… since US lawsuits that involve texting and harassing behaviours are increasing, Canadian employers should beware!

Tags: bullying, canadian employment law, common law, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, discrimination, employment law, employment standard, employment standards, harassment, HR issues, Human Resources, human rights, occupational health and safety, sexual harassment, social media, text messages, texting, textual harassment
Posted in Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights | 2 Comments »

The four-day workweek

Monday, October 26th, 2009

The reality of today’s workplaces is that employees are stressed because they not only face excess work duties, but they work long hours, which keeps them away from their homes, families and leisure for long periods of time. According to many HR and legal experts, the results of overworked employees are distraction and low productivity in the company, forcing employers to demand even more hours from their employees, among other things. Everybody I talk to seems to think that the solution of a four-day workweek should enhance employee effectiveness and productivity, reduce stress, improve employees’ enjoyment of work, and balance their work/life.

Tags: canadian employment law, compressed workweek, employment law, employment standards, flex time, flexible schedule, flexible work arrangements, flexible work hours, four day work week, four day workweek, hours of work, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, Labour standards, policies and procedures, policy
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | 4 Comments »

Providing reference letters: should you or shouldn’t you – or does it make a difference? Part II

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

In the vast majority of cases, there is absolutely no reason for an employer not to provide a positive letter of reference for a dismissed employee. As discussed below, this conclusion is based upon two general points:

1) There is little or no risk in providing an honest, good faith reference;
2) Organizations can benefit financially if a dismissed employee finds new employment quickly.

Tags: canadian employment law, Dismissal, employment law, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, ontario employment standards act, policies and procedures, policy
Posted in Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring | Make a Comment »

Providing reference letters: should you or shouldn’t you – or does it make a difference? Part I

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

In the vast majority of cases, there is absolutely no reason for an employer not to provide a positive letter of reference for a dismissed employee. As discussed below, this conclusion is based upon two general points:

1) There is little or no risk in providing an honest, good faith reference;
2) Organizations can benefit financially if a dismissed employee finds new employment quickly.

Tags: canadian employment law, Dismissal, employment law, employment standards, HR, HR issues, Human Resources, policies and procedures, References
Posted in Employee Relations, Human Resources | 1 Comment »

Romance (sex) in the workplace – the Letterman case

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Last week, television talk show host David Letterman acknowledged on his program that he had sexual relationships with several female employees and that someone tried to extort money from him under the threat of making the relationships public. Letterman referred the matter to the police and the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and after an investigation, another employee of the Letterman’s broadcasting network, CBS, was arrested on attempted grand larceny. I don’t know about you but this is a great example of how romance (sex) in the workplace can go terribly wrong!

Tags: canadian employment law, employment law, employment standards, HR issues, Human Resources, human rights, policies and procedures, policy, romance in the workplace, sexual discrimination, sexual harassment
Posted in Human Resources, Human Rights | 4 Comments »

Introducing guest blogger Stuart Rudner

Monday, October 5th, 2009

It’s a pleasure to welcome Stuart Rudner as a guest blogger. He will be blogging about human resources, employment and labour law issues.

Tags: canadian employment law, employment law, employment standards, health and safety, HR issues, Human Resources, human rights, Labour Law, Miller Thomson LLP, occupational health and safety, ontario, ontario employment standards act, policies and procedures, policy, vicarious liability, workers compensation
Posted in Announcements | Make a Comment »

Ban on hand-held devices in force October 26

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Ontario’s ban on hand-held devices while driving will take effect on October 26, 2009. It will be illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. There will be a three month transition period for enforcement where the focus will be on educating drivers; police will start issuing tickets on February 1, 2010.

Tags: ban on cellphone use, canadian employment law, cellphone use, employment law, health and safety, Highway traffic act, HR issues, Human Resources, occupational health and safety, ontario, policy, vicarious liability, workers compensation
Posted in Employment Standards, Human Resources | 1 Comment »